Last fall, Steve Harkins was conducting a routine check on a shipment of records and CDs at Ingram Entertainment, a wholesale music distributor headquartered in Tennessee. Instead of vinyl, though, Harkins was amused to find that Ingram’s supplier had sent a pallet packed with bottles of windshield-wiper fluid. “I called …
Read More »Pearl Jam Announce New Album 'Gigaton,' North American Tour Dates
Pearl Jam will release their 11th album, Gigaton, on March 27th. It’s their first album of new material since 2013’s Lightning Bolt, marking the longest period of time they’ve ever gone between albums. Leadoff single “Dance of the Clairvoyants” will be released in the coming weeks. “Making this record was …
Read More »'The Mandalorian' (and Mistakes) Kick Off Disney+ Entry to Streaming
This post contains spoilers for the first episode of The Mandalorian, which is now available on Disney+. Early in The Mandalorian, the Star Wars series’ title character — a laconic bounty hunter, hidden under armor similar to Boba Fett’s — is offered a state-of-the-art land speeder to drive him and …
Read More »Big Boi Wants to Keep His Owls Forever-Ever
“Gimme that butt!” Big Boi bellows from behind the mixing board of his famed Atlanta studio, Stankonia. The call for butts is addressed to Hootie Hoo, a sleepy Eurasian eagle-owl perched next to him. Along with Hoodini, Simon, and Tula, Hootie is one of four pet owls the rapper lets …
Read More »King Crimson's '21st Century Schizoid Man': Inside Prog's Big Bang
In this first installment of our two-part deep dive into the history and influence of King Crimson‘s “21st Century Schizoid Man,” the band’s co-founders look back on the writing of the iconic song, and contemporaries recount its initial impact onstage and on LP. To read the second part — which …
Read More »The Unheard 'Abbey Road': An Exclusive Preview of Beatles' Expanded Final Masterpiece
Fifty years ago today, on August 8th, 1969, the Beatles walked back and forth across a street they knew well: Abbey Road. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr lined up and crossed a few times, while a cop held up traffic, right outside the studio where they …
Read More »Smells Like Holy Spirit: Watch Kanye West's Sunday Service Cover Nirvana
Kanye West‘s choir put an uplifting, Christian spin on two Nirvana songs, “Come As You Are” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” at the rapper’s most recent Sunday Service performance. In a video, the choir stands in a circle and sings the Nevermindtracks while decked out in white. “Just confess/ he’ll …
Read More »'The Lion King' Remake: The Circle of Life Returns With a Risk-Free Repeat
Everything money can buy — including the vocal talents of Beyoncé and Donald Glover and the latest in digital pizazz — has been poured into Jon Favreau’s photo-realistic retake on The Lion King, the 1994 Disney animated classic. What’s missing? Let’s start with intangibles such as heart, soul and the …
Read More »Emmys 2019: 10 Biggest Snubs
The 71st annual Emmy awards announced their nominations, with the usual mix of the familiar (Better Call Saul‘s Bob Odenkirk, Veep‘s Julia Louis-Dreyfus, the behemoth that is Game of Thrones) and intriguing fresh faces/choices (Barry‘s Anthony Carrigan, our beloved Fleabag, Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy for Schitt’s Creek!). Looking at …
Read More »Watch Lana Del Rey's Live Debut of Sublime Cover 'Doin' Time'
Lana Del Rey staged the live debut of her Sublime cover “Doin’ Time” during a concert Saturday at Dublin, Ireland’s Malahide Castle. Set against an orange sunset backdrop and palm trees, Del Rey swayed as she sultrily crooned the lyrics to “Doin’ Time” while the audience sang along. The performance …
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